Night had fallen on Lake Kawaguchi and, like so many summer nights before, the air was hot and humid. Thankfully, having spent five years in Area 11 had conditioned Cecile and the rest of the Special Corps to the stickiness that such a night entailed. This mean that she could oversee the diagnostics of the Lancelot with Suzaku sitting in the pilot seat next to her. Even in his dress uniform, the teenager was barely phased by the weather. Although, she knew that growing up in Area 11 meant Suzaku had become more acclimatized to the environment than Cecile could ever hope to be.
"God damn, but I'm warm."
Well, all but one of their number was used to the heat, Cecile chuckling as the Japanese boy smiled with a roll of his eyes at Captain Forsyth's outburst. Turning round, the duo saw Ciaran wiping the back of his forearm against his forehead, standing near one of the large control banks in the Special Corps vehicle. The man's maroon jacket and bulletproof vest were sitting on a nearby chair, leaving him in his trousers and under-shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled above his elbows. In his hand, he carried a large water-bottle he'd bought from a nearby convenience store.
"Are you doing all right, sir?" The teenage boy asked kindly, looking over his shoulder.
"Give me the heat or give me the wet, Suzaku," Ciaran called up to the boy, "I can handle both on their own well enough, but a combination of both is just horrid."
This caused a collective chuckle from all the Camelot members present. And it was good that he was doing so, Cecile thought. For the past few hours, an uneasy stalemate had gone on, ever since the Britannian military had sent down three Sutherlands into the large access tunnel under the street leading to the hotel. It had been a simple enough plan: go under the terrorist's feet, strike from the rear and take them by surprise.
But like all of the best laid plans, it had been undone by an unknown variable. The JLF had brought up an unknown weapon. According to command, it had been some kind of linear cannon made from the hulls of several Knightmares. It had wiped out all three units in a matter of seconds.
After that, the Britannian military had done little else but wait. A message from General Darlton to the captain told them to make sure the Lancelot was waiting on standby.
"Just in case," the message had stated, and that's what they were doing now: those crew members who were attached to the Lancelot were running all the various tests that were necessary, while the others sat around, doing what they could do to stave off boredom.
It was a classic example of the most basic and oldest military axiom: hurry up and wait.
And the tension was bearing down on everyone.
Returning to her work, Cecile barely had a chance to glance at from the mechanisms in the cockpit as she heard someone climbing the ladder on the platform to reach the top. Both she and the pilot were taken aback as Ciaran climbed over the lip of the platform, hauling himself up before sitting on the metal, leaning back against one of the railings with one leg dangling over the side.
"Bugger me." The young man muttered to himself before taking a swig from the water bottle.
"If the weather's bothering you so much, maybe you should go in to the G-1?" The indigo-haired woman asked.
"I'd just get in the way of the senior officers." The captain admitted with a frown. "Plus, I don't really want to run in to Lloyd on my own."
Cecile nodded in understanding. The eccentric scientist still had a chip on his shoulder from when Ciaran had questioned the choice of colour for the Lancelot, and that only seemed to have been exacerbated with the news that the Briton had been made liaison officer with the Special Corps. Granted, Lloyd wasn't a particularly dangerous man. It was just better to err on the side of caution, just to be safe.
"Besides," Ciaran said, crossing his legs and leaning forward. "I wanted to check up on Suzaku here. You've been very quiet for a while now, lad. What's up?" The last part was said with a genuine concern that matched the captain's frown.
Suzaku just carried on pressing the various buttons in the cockpit that needed to be pushed.
"Those teenage hostages are friends of yours from school, aren't they?" Cecile asked, before her voice became more chipper. "They're still negotiating, so let's not give up hope."
"I have faith in the system," Suzaku replied, a little too flatly for either officer's taste. "I prefer the logic of systems to individualistic emotions."
Ciaran and Cecile shared a concerned look, with the man opening his mouth to speak before a gasp from Suzaku interrupted them.
"Miss Cecile, Captain Forsyth. Look."
Drawing closer, Cecile gasped while Ciaran swore quietly to himself at what they saw on the Lancelot's main view screen: five men were standing on the roof of the hotel, four of them in olive drab uniforms holding submachine guns while one was in civilian dress, his arms bound to sides, stood on the lip of the roof.
"That's..." Cecile started.
"Don't do it." Suzaku said, fear in this voice.
"God-damn it." Ciaran swore.
One of the terrorists stepped forward, and pushed the man in the back.
Only two sounds came to Cecile's ears as she watched the man plummet to the ground: Suzaku screaming a short but loud "No!" and Ciaran taking in a sharp intake of breath before turning and delivering a kick to the railing enough to make the platform shake. Cecile could only put her head into her hands.
Cornelia grit her teeth together with such force that if her mind wasn't clouded with rage, then she'd have been certain that Darlton and Guilford, possibly even the entire bridge of the G-1, could hear her. But thankfully, all their attention was focused on the view-screen before them, which was currently broadcasting a video of the terrorist's leader, Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe.
"Our demands have gone unanswered," The goatee-ed man said, sitting in a chair with his hands folded over the pommel of an antique katana. "Therefore we will throw one hostage off the roof every thirty minutes until our terms are met. For the sake of the hostages, the negotiations better be in good faith."
The tech specialists weren't able to tell if the message had been pre-recorded beforehand, but it didn't matter to the princess. Just the fact they did the act was enough for the princess.
"Guilford, Darlton! Come with me." Cornelia snapped, striding out of the room tailed by her two adjutants as they travelled down a hallway.
"This is their warning? Barbarians." Darlton growled.
"For now, we could negotiate to get the women and children out..." Guilford chimed in, his voice still stoically calm before Cornelia cut in.
"Forget it!" The princess snapped. "If you give into their conditions even once, you're simply legitimatising terrorism."
"Princess!" A voice cried out behind the trio. Turning around, Cornelia wasn't too surprised to see Dorothea and Nonnette running up to them. The pair of knights had been outside, Dorothea overseeing the dispersal of the APCs, while Nonette had... well, Cornelia wasn't really sure what Nonette had been doing. But wherever they had been, they must have either seen or heard the incident.
"Princess," Dorothea said, catching up to the trio, "We just saw. Is there any..."
"No," Cornelia cut in, "They made no mention of her, so it's safe to say they haven't found out Euphemia is among the guests."
"Since her name isn't officially entered in the guest's register, it's unlikely they'll know she's there." Darlton chimed in.
Placing her hand over her forehead, Cornelia let out a shuddering breath. "... a rock and a hard place."
Guilford seemed to be the only one who had heard the princess' statement. "Pardon, your highness?"
"Just remembering a conversation I had with Mr Forsyth earlier today, Guilford." The princess said, letting her hand drop to her waist before striding off down the corridor addressing the group behind her. "Nevertheless, our original plan remains unchanged. We will not use lethal force to rescue the hostages."
"Yes, your highness." The two men and two women replied, following Cornelia.
They had not taken more than a dozen steps before the sound of running reached their ears.
"Viceroy! It's Zero!" A soldier in a grey-blue uniform rushed in through a side corridor. "We've just received a message from Zero."
The two Knights of the Round shared a surprised look, while Darlton and Guilford shared a worried look. Cornelia just scowled.
'A rock and a hard place,' She thought to herself. 'You were far from wrong, Ciaran.'
The requisitioned news van trundled down the road at a leisurely pace, Lelouch having geassed the driver and news crew that originally owned the van into giving him their vehicle. Standing on the top of the roof, he didn't bother holding onto the railing before him. It wouldn't do for Zero, the man who murdered Clovis and who had the Britannians of Area 11 cowering in fear, to be seen holding on to the rail of the van like a young child riding their first roller-coaster.
Underneath his feet, Kallen and Ohgi sat in the drivers compartment while the rest of his group were in the main hold of the van. He knew they would be questioning his choice of approach, but he paid them little mind. This had to be done, and this way. He would have it done no other way.
Ahead of him, an array of floodlights flared into life, bathing the news van in a harsh light. He mentally congratulated himself on having the visor of his helmet made out out of the material it was, or he would surely have been blinded. Looking ahead, he saw a quartet of Sutherlands lining the road, their large guns held in their hands, which were levelled directly at the approaching van. They did nothing to obstruct the van but, as the van passed them, they kept their guns trained on the vehicle as it continued on it's journey.
Soon, the bridge leading to the hotel was in sight, with a clear path to the building. But that wasn't what caused a smile to grace Lelouch's face. Preceded by the screech of land-spinners on concrete, a trio of purple Knightmares, Gloucester frames Lelouch reminded himself, rolled in to his path. Armed with long, wicked looking lances, two of them wore deep-blue cloaks over their shoulders. But Lelouch's attention was focused on the unit in the middle. It had a pair of long horn-like appendices protruding from the side of it's 'head', while over it's vibrant, ornamental purple armour, it bore a a large white cloak.
'Cornelia,' Lelouch thought to himself, 'Much as I'd like to get you back right now, you're more useful to me alive. If you do what I predict, I won't need to use my geass.'
Soon, the panel on the back of Cornelia's Knightmare opened, and the stern visage of his elder half-sister appeared. But that wasn't what surprised the young terrorist. Beside the feet of his sibling's Gloucester, two women appeared. Both were tall, wearing white uniforms reminiscent of Nineteenth-century cavalry uniforms, and trailed by two trailing cloaks. One was a dark-skinned woman with her black hair in a single braid and a blue and gold cloak over he shoulders clutching a submachine gun, while the other, a woman with hair the colour of champagne and a purple and gold cloak held a pistol in her hand. Both women levelled their weapons at Zero.
"Knights of the Round?" Lelouch said to himself. "Here?"
"Well, well. We meet again, Zero," The stern voice of Cornelia drew Lelouch back to the task at hand. "Are you a member of the Japan Liberation Front? Or perhaps you intend to help us. Regardless, our concerns take priority over yours at the moment."
"So for the death of my half-brother, Clovis," The princess called out, before drawing her ever present sword-pistol, which she levelled at Zero, "I will take my revenge right here!"
The featureless mask didn't show it, but Lelouch steeled himself. Knights of the Round or no, his plan had to go ahead.
"Cornelia," The masked terrorist spoke, his voice easily travelling to the princess' ears, "Which would you choose: Clovis, who is dead? Or Euphemia, who is alive?"
A grin came to the young man's face as he saw Cornelia recoil at his words. So, his suspicions were correct. Cornelia's love for her sister would be her downfall.
"It's within my power to save Euphemia!" Zero declared boldly, his voice making the Viceroy scowl.
"What do you mean?" Cornelia replied, her scowl deepening, while below her, the two Knights shared a confused glance.
The smile on Lelouch's face broadened.
"Zero, you say?" Kusakabe asked, getting up from his chair.
"Yes, sir," One of his junior officers said, "Word came from the Britannian army."
Kusakabe strode over to the large window beside him. The room he'd chosen as his headquarters for this operation was perfectly positioned to overlook the lone bridge connecting the hotel to the shore, but had enough height that if the Britannians tried using force against him, then the hostages would be in danger too. Looking down over the bridge, a smile came to his face at what he saw: Zero truly was here, riding atop a TV camera van, which was making it's way down the bridge towards the hotel.
"Lieutenant-Colonel?" Another of his officers asked. "What do you want us to do?"
Kusakabe was silent for a moment before a smile came to his face.
"Let him in, and bring him directly to me." The man ordered, not taking his eyes away from the van that was drawing closer to the hotel. Even as an aide spoke into a hand-held radio to contact the guards, he did not take his eyes off of the masked figure approaching the building.
Soon, the gate to the hotel opened and the van rolled inside and out of Kusakabe's view. But that mattered little to Kusakabe as his smile only grew in to a toothy grin.
Lelouch's smile grew wider as he climbed down from the top of the van. Even the presence of the armed members of the JLF did little to his mood.
"Zero?" One of the men asked, a sergeant judging by the pins on his sleeve.
"Yes." The masked terrorist replied.
"I've been instructed to take you to Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe at once."
'All tasks at hand have been completed. Excellent.' He thought to himself before he spoke out loud. "Very well, then. But I'll be taking one of my guards with me. Kallen."
At the sound of her name being mentioned, the red-headed girl's back straightened. "Me?"
"I'll have to confirm it with the Lieutenant-Colonel." The sergeant replied as he drew a hand-held radio from his belt and began relaying the request.
The seconds ticked away as the sergeant conversed with Kusakabe before he nodded and clipped the radio back to his belt.
"All right. The Lieutenant-Colonel's given the all clear. You and the girl will follow me, while the rest of your group are to stay with your vehicle."
"Of course." Zero replied, before he and Kallen followed the JLF member into a nearby elevator. As the man pressed the button for the elevator to climb, all Lelouch could do under his mask could smile. Even though he knew he was possibly walking into the jaws of hell, all he could was smile.
Standing in the open cockpit of her Gloucester, Cornelia's grip on the roof tightened, while outwardly she showed no other sign of emotion. The arrival of Zero made the situation all the more dangerous.
"Princess, what are you doing?" She heard Nonette call out to her from below.
"Advancing our plans." She replied, before keying her headpiece to a set frequency. "Captain Forsyth?"
There was silence for a split second before the man replied. "Reading you loud and clear, your highness. What are your orders?"
"Tell Asplund I want the Lancelot ready to go against the cannon in the access tunnel. The pilot is to carry on with Plan Gamma. Understand?"
There was silence for a second, although Cornelia was certain she could hear the young man take a deep breath before exhaling.
"Understood, your highness. Forsyth, over and out." The man replied before the headpiece clicked off.
"Darlton, Guilford," Cornelia called out to her nearby knights who, like her, were also standing in the open cockpits of their Gloucesters. "I want all combat and medical teams on standby. We are finishing this tonight. I am understood?"
"Yes, your highness!" The two men replied before re-entering their Knightmares and speeding off to go about their work, leaving the princess to stare down the bridge at the hotel.
To say Ciaran was uneasy at the current moment would be probably the largest understatement of his life at the moment. Even his impromptu entrance into the Viceroy's palace didn't match up to the current moment. And it wasn't due to his body's current position.
He was leaning backwards far enough that he was certain he'd soon hear a snap as his spine broke if it wasn't for the railing he was standing in front of. His back was in danger of breaking because leaning close to him, his face mere centimetres away from his own, was the smiling face of Lloyd Asplund.
"Say that again, captain?" The professor said, his mouth forming into something similar to a cat's mouth. Just without the teeth. Clearing his throat, and trying his best to avoid his desire to head-butt the scientist, Ciaran spoke with a voice as possibly calm as he could manage.
"You heard what I said, professor."
"Wonderful!" The professor called out, ignoring the fact that he had just yelled right in to the young man's face. "I want to thank you for that lovely order!"
"Don't mention it." Ciaran muttered to himself as Lloyd pulled himself up to his full height.
"Did you hear that, Suzaku?" The professor said, turning to look up at the Lancelot with it's pilot seated inside. "You've got the green light. They want you to charge right in to that linear cannon in the tunnel!"
Murmurs of bewilderment sounded from the assembled crew, and some even shot some dirty looks at the young Briton as Cecile tried to protest against the order. But all those protests were silenced as the Lancelot's pilot spoke.
"Miss Cecile," The young man spoke flatly, "I'm ready. Please let me do this. Even if I'm just a decoy, if it means I can get the hostages out, I'll do it."
Closing his eyes, Ciaran let out a sigh before speaking. "All right then, Suzaku. Go and get changed into your pilot suit. You've got two minutes before the operation starts."
"Yes sir." The Japanese teenager replied, climbing out of the cockpit and saluting before climbing down from the Lancelot and running off to get changed.
The boy came back in less than a minute, dressed in the white and black pilot suit, before climbing into the cockpit block of the Lancelot. Soon, a small crane arrived and hooked the Knightmare and began transporting it to the hole in to the access tunnel. As it was lowered, Cecile began explaining the mission parameters to the teenager, but Ciaran didn't pay any attention to her. His stomach was in his mouth and he was certain he'd vomit if he spoke. He felt awful.
Suzaku was charging headlong into the maw of a cannon that had already claimed three lives. And the boy was doing it so gladly.
'… All in the valley of Death, rode the six hundred. "Forward, the Light Brigade. Charge for the guns."...'
"Captain Forsyth?"
Cecile's voice shook him out of his reverie. Looking over, he saw the older woman looking back at him with a concerned expression. The realization hit that he had spoken out loud, although thankfully, only Cecile had heard him.
"It's nothing, Cecile," He replied, turning to look back the screen showing the layout of the tunnel before him. "Let's just get this over with."
Cecile nodded as she turned to look at the screen before her, continuing to talk to the Lancelot's pilot. "Remember, Suzaku, you will be using the VARIS to destroy the foundation of the building. Set the Impact Rail to Anti-Materiel level 3."
"Roger." Came as the only reply from the pilot.
Looking ahead, Ciaran focused on the timer counting down.
50 seconds remaining.
Racking his memory, Ciaran thought back to what Plan Gamma entailed. It was a simple plan, one of the oldest military tactics available: undermining. Shoot away at the foundations of the building, let the hotel sink into the lake and rescue the hostages. Simple, but things were hardly ever simple when the military was involved.
"Count down to mission start in eight... seven... six..." Cecile read off the screen in front of her, while the newly promoted captain took a deep breath.
"ME boost." Suzaku replied.
"Lancelot... launch!" Cecile called, and Ciaran watched in amazement as the special Knightmare took off at a speed he never imagined a Knightmare could accomplish down the underground passage.
Soon a flashing 'warning' sign came just as the amplified sound of the hidden linear cannon came roaring down the tunnel. Ciaran gripped the desktop in front of him tightly just a blast of super-compressed air came out of the entrance into the tunnel, the force knocking anyone unprepared off their feet. Even his own tight grip didn't help him, as Ciaran soon found himself, for the second time in as many days, flat on his arse. Only this time, his ears were ringing something awful. Looking around, he could see Lloyd and Cecile talking, although he couldn't hear what they were saying.
Struggling to his feet, Ciaran had less than a second to check on the progress of the Lancelot as another blast of air knocked him on to the floor again. What he saw was good though: the first blast hadn't taken down the Lancelot. Taking shelter behind the back of computers, he couldn't help but smile broadly.
If the next three cannon blasts hadn't come, he'd have heard himself exclaiming, "Go on, my son!"
If Cornelia hadn't been paying attention to the bridge, she would certainly be paying attention to it now, as a large explosion rocked the world. A geyser of water erupted underneath the bridge, followed by an explosion a split-second after which lifted a segment of the causeway into the air.
Straining to see through the smoke and steam, the princess saw a sight that both saw her heart leap and also strike her with confusion: the stark white, humanoid shape of the Lancelot falling to earth, a long-barrelled, blue rifle clutched in it's hands. Aiming the rifle, the white Knightmare fired off four shots right at the foundation of the hotel.
"The Eleven!" Cornelia called out in glee as she watched the hotel slowly sinking in to the water. "He really did it. Guilford, now!"
Guilford's reply was lost to her though as she saw something that made her heart drop. The tall structure was racked with large explosions. What should have been a semi-controlled demolition soon turned in to something horrible as the hotel's top began listing to the side, the internal strength of the building being compromised.
"Oh, God no." Her Knight replied as he too watched the building collapse.
"Euphie!" Cornelia's cry was lost in the resulting roar as the sound of the explosions merged in to one sound, the building coming crashing down in to the water.
Ciaran felt like his stomach was going to force itself out of it's stomach as he watched what happened.
"Euphemia." He muttered to himself as his body took several steps forward, acting on autopilot. All other sounds had faded out, even the ringing in his ears was gone. He couldn't hear the surprised cries of the Special Corps, nor could he hear Cecile calling out to Suzaku over the comm-link. All he was focused on was the building literally falling to ruin before his eyes.
The steps forward quickened in pace, going from a walk to a sprint in a second, the young man brushing aside anyone in front of him. Soldier and civilian alike, he barged past them, even knocking aside a camera crew who were filming the scene. He wasn't aware of anything, so wholly focused on the hotel, that even loosing his footing on the small embankment on the lake's edge and the resultant tumble down the small slope didn't cause him to break stride until he reached the lake and plunged in to the water up to his knees.
"Euphemia." He muttered to himself again, before calling the same name again. But the waves rippling against his legs gave no response, just the creeping silence as the tumultuous sounds of the hotel's destruction faded away.
His throat clenched up as the reality hit him: she was gone. The lovely, pink haired girl he'd met less than a few weeks ago, the girl who had made him, a complete stranger, feel like he had never left home, was gone. He didn't try and fight the tears that came to his eyes as he felt the strength evaporate from his legs, plunging his knees in to the water, the young man kneeling in the cold water.
A sudden gust of wind blew from the seaward side of the lake, brushing away the lingering smoke to reveal the ruins of the hotel.
And a immaculate boat. With Zero standing on the prow.
"My dear Britannians, have no fear!" The masked figure spoke, his voice amplified by an unseen speaker. "All of the hostages from the hotel are safe and sound. I, Zero, return them to you unharmed!"
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ciaran peered through the smoke. Sure enough, he could see the forms of a large number of small inflatable rafts floating around the yacht. His sorrow was soon replaced by anger. The masked bastard was in the perfect position to take the newly released hostages back in to captivity if the military tried anything.
Floodlights snapped in to life, bathing the yacht and the other surrounding craft in bright, stark light, revealing Zero in his fullness, surrounded on both flanks by what appeared to seven other people, all in black uniforms.
"People! Fear us, or rally behind us!" The masked man called out. "We, are the Black Knights! We of the Black Knights stand with all those who have no weapons to wield. Regardless of whether they be Elevens, or Britannians. The Japan Liberation Front cowardly took innocent Britannian civilians hostage, and they mercilessly executed them. It was a wanton and meaningless act, therefore they have been punished. Just as former Viceroy Clovis was punished for ordering the slaughter of countless unarmed Elevens, we could not stand by..."
Ciaran lost focus on Zero, his eyes furiously scanning the number of rafts, looking for any sign of Euphemia, now standing up in the water.
"Those of you with power, fear us. Those of you without it, rally behind us. We, the Black Knights, shall be the ones who stand in judgement of this world!"
Zero concluded his speech and the yacht slowly worked it's way out from between the smaller rafts, which had begun making their way to the shore. Behind him, Ciaran could hear someone calling down to him while someone else was calling out for assistance. He ignored them though as he waded further in to the water, the water washing over his chest now.
The rafts were coming closer to the shore now, Ciaran taking quick glances in each boat for any sign of Euphemia. None of them contained the princess, so Ciaran pushed them behind him towards the shore where, out of the corner of his eye, he could see soldiers wading in to bring the boats to land.
He was getting desperate as the number of boats dwindled and there was no sign of the pink haired girl.
"Euphemia!" He called out as he pushed another boat filled with teenage school girls past him.
"Ciaran!" A soft voice called out to him. Turning, Ciaran's face lit up. There, in a raft slowly coming towards him, was Princess Euphemia. Alive and unharmed, her two bodyguards seated behind her.
"Euphemia!" He called out again as he plunged further in to the water as the raft drew closer. Reaching the side, he grabbed on to the side of the inflatable. "You're alive."
"Yes, I'm okay, Ciaran." Euphemia said sweetly, looking down at the Briton as he drew the raft closer to the shore. "Will you help me out of this?"
"Of course, my lady." Ciaran replied, as the boat reached dry land. Reaching up, he offered his hand to the princess, which she took. As she was climbing out, the young man reached up with his other arm, which he put under Euphemia's legs, lifting her fully out of the boat and above the water line before he began wading towards the shore, causing her to squeak in surprise. By now, the shoreline was beginning to fill with the rescued hostages, soldiers and TV news crews clamouring to get an interview with the hostages.
"This could be a problem." Euphemia said with a slight giggle.
"Indeed." Ciaran said with a smile as he put the princess down on the ground, his eyes focused on the crowd just being held back by the ranks of soldiers. Reaching down, he linked one of his hands with Euphemia's in a firm but gentle grip.
"Keep a good grip on my hand and stay close." He said as they began moving towards the crowd.
"Lieutenant Ross!" General Darlton roared, his voice easily carrying over the din of the people straining to try and talk to the members of the Britannian high command. "Keep those paparazzi back!"
The selected officer saluted smartly before running off to join the soldiers at the barricades as they worked to keep the civilians away from the G-1. Darlton had anticipated that the various news crews would try and get an interview with either himself or Princess Cornelia, but with the arrival of Zero on the scene, his estimates on what would happen had been thoroughly kick to the curb.
"General Darlton!" Cornelia called out to him as she walked towards him, flanked by the Knights of Four and Nine. "How serious is it"
"Hard to say, your highness." The scarred giant replied, knowing the princess was referring to the crowd of people. "We might need to draw in some more soldiers."
The princess nodded as she cast her gaze over the crowd before her.
"No sign of Princess Euphemia yet." Darlton said sadly, which caused a deep frown to appear on Cornelia's face.
Reaching forward, Nonette placed a hand on Cornelia's shoulder, a sincere smile on her face.
"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll turn up."
Darlton and Dorothea could only nod with the Knight of Nine's sentiment.
"Make way! Move aside!" A voice called out, drawing the four adults attention. Turning, they were surprised at what they saw. A group of soldiers, some in the drab grey of the regular Britannian army, while some were in the orange uniforms of the Special Corps, had formed a walking barrier which moved slowly towards the barrier surrounding the G-1 base. Reaching the barriers, the group parted revealing Captain Forsyth and Princess Euphemia, very much alive and well, grasping his hand tightly.
"Euphemia!" Cornelia called out, the joy incapable of being hidden from her voice as her sister rushed forward to her. Ciaran wasn't close behind, jogging to keep pace with the young princess. Darlton couldn't help but smile as the two princesses hugged.
"You're a mess." Darlton heard Nonette say, and turning, he smiled as he saw what she was referring to. Ciaran was standing there in his Royal Guardsman uniform as usual, only this time his uniform was drenched, soaked up to his chest in water, turning the colours a darker shade of what they were.
Darlton didn't say anything as he put a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"You saw what I did, I take it?" Ciaran asked, his face impassive as Darlton nodded.
"I don't blame you for it though," Darlton said with a shrug and a smile. "I'm sure someone was bound to do it."
This made Ciaran smile, even as he watched Cornelia take off her cloak and wrap it around her younger sister before they walked towards the G-1.
"Lieutenant Forsyth," The Viceroy called back, looking at the young man with a stern face. "I want you to give a full debriefing about the events tonight. And a change of uniform."
Darlton patted the young man on the shoulder as his posture slumped forward. "Well there goes my promotion then." He heard Ciaran mutter, which caused him to chuckle as the duo made their way in to the G-1 followed by the Knights of the Round. Behind them, the noise of the clamouring crowds continued, but they paid them little mind.
AN: Okay, so this is the redux version of chapter 8. As some people pointed out, it was short, far too short, and I agree. I did not like how short it was myself.
So here is chapter 8 in full. All 8 pages of it. As someone mentioned, with it being essentially a retelling of the arc, it can be a bit difficult to get it right without just copying the episode verbatim. So I cut some things down (Zero/Lelouch's speech for one) and replaced some of the dialogue with some of my own design.
So... read and enjoy (again).
ETA: Wasn't sure if this update was coming through, so I deleted the chapter and re-uploaded it. Just to be save.